"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the person of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Like a Scarecrow in a Melon Patch

Today's Reading:Jeremiah 10:1-11:23Revelation 9:1-21Proverbs 3:11-20Click on Text Link to Read OnlineFocus Verses: Jeremiah 10:1-51 Hear what the LORD says to you, O house of Israel. 2
This is what the LORD says: "Do not learn the ways of the nations or
be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by
them. 3 For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. 4 They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. 5 Like
a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be
carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm
nor can they do any good."

Insight:
So
much of what people honor, pursue, and trust are worthless idols. No
matter how slick, beautiful, religious, philosophical, or attractive
people make them, these idols are nothing more than something they've
made. When we choose to love the gods of our own making, we are bound
for disappointment as we discover that they are powerless to give joy,
security, or fulfillment.

Response and Action:
I
will reserve my love, honor, and worship for God. I will not chase
after the worthless things that most people seem to value, love, and
trust. I want to see God for who he is and see empty substitutes for
what they are.

O God, show
yourself to me. Help me to know you more and more each day as I follow
Christ, listen to your word, and surrender myself to your Spirit.
Lead, teach, transform, shape, and strengthen me, that I might delight
in your will, and walk in your ways to the glory of your name. Amen.Spiritual Formation Verses:Romans 1:20-2520
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his
eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being
understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 21
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave
thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish
hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23
and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look
like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. 24
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to
sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They
exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served
created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Resources:Breaking the Idols of Your Heartby Dan Allender and Tremper Longman

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About Me

I serve as the lead pastor with Valley Christian Church in Lakeville, MN and publish two blogs – Altered Faces (Faith, Humor, Life, and the Arts) and Useful Breath (a daily journal for Bible readers). You can contact me through my website which also has information about my music and ministry.